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- Title
Increased Breast and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Type 2 Diabetes: Awareness Among Adults With and Without Diabetes and Information Provision on Diabetes Websites.
- Authors
Ashley, Laura; Robb, Kathryn A; O'Connor, Daryl B; Platt, Rebecca; Price, Mollie; Robinson, Olivia; Travis, Elizabeth; Lipscombe, Lorraine; Ajjan, Ramzi; Birch, Rebecca
- Abstract
Background: People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of developing breast and bowel cancers but are less likely to participate in cancer screening. Purpose: Two interlinked studies examined public awareness of the fact that T2DM increases breast and bowel cancer risk, and provision of this information on diabetes websites. Methods: Study-1: phase-1 surveyed awareness of T2DM-increased cancer risk in a nationally-representative British sample aged 50–74 (N = 1,458) and compared respondents with and without T2DM (n = 125 vs. n = 1,305); phase-2 surveyed an additional exclusively T2DM sample (N = 319). Study-2: High-ranking diabetes websites (N = 25) were reviewed to determine the rate of inclusion of cancer risk and cancer screening information in evident sections about diabetes-related health conditions. Results: A low proportion of respondents were aware that T2DM increases risk of breast (13.7%) and bowel (27.6%) cancers, compared to much higher awareness of other diabetes-related conditions such as sight loss (82.2%) and foot problems (81.8%). Respondents with T2DM were significantly more likely than those without T2DM to be aware of all the surveyed diabetes-related health conditions (e.g., sight loss, OR: 3.14, 95%CI: 1.61–6.15; foot problems, OR: 2.58, 95%CI: 1.38–4.81), except breast (OR: 0.82, 95%CI: 0.46–1.45) and bowel (OR: 0.95, 95%CI: 0.63–1.45) cancer, for which awareness was equally low among people with and without T2DM. Few diabetes websites with a section on diabetes-related health conditions included cancer in this section (n = 4/19), and fewer still included cancer screening among any noted cancer-protective behaviors (n = 2/4). Conclusions: There is low public awareness that T2DM increases the risk of developing breast and bowel cancers, even among people with T2DM, which may be partly due to limited information provision regarding T2DM-increased cancer risk from diabetes care providers and organizations. Most people are not aware that Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of breast and bowel cancers. Awareness is low even among people who have Type 2 diabetes. This may be partly because little information about cancer risk is being provided by diabetes care organisations. Lay Summary: People with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a higher risk of developing breast and bowel cancers. Despite this, they are less likely to participate in cancer screening, which can improve survival from cancer. We addressed two questions. Are people aware that T2D increases the risk of breast and bowel cancer? Are people being told about this by diabetes care providers and organizations? We surveyed a large representative sample of the British public (aged 50–74). We also reviewed key information about diabetes-related health problems provided on 25 top-ranking diabetes websites. There were three main findings. (1) Relatively few people knew that T2D increases the risk of breast and bowel cancer. In contrast, many people knew that T2D increases the risk of other conditions like sight loss, foot problems, and heart disease. (2) Awareness of higher cancer risk was equally low among people with T2D and those without. In contrast, knowledge of other diabetes-related conditions (e.g., sight loss, foot problems) was higher among people with T2D than those without. (3) Few websites included cancer in their key information about diabetes-related health problems. In contrast, nearly all the diabetes websites listed the more well-known risks of sight loss, foot problems, and heart disease.
- Subjects
TYPE 2 diabetes; MEDICAL screening; DISEASE risk factors; BREAST cancer; COLORECTAL cancer; WEBSITES
- Publication
Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 2023, Vol 57, Issue 5, p386
- ISSN
0883-6612
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/abm/kaac068